Marathon mum tackled Sahara furnace three times in honour of her dad
If you think it’s been hot in South London recently, spare a thought for Karen O’Donnell.
The Wimbledon mum of three has braved the heat of the Sahara – not only enduring it but running in it. And she has now done it three times.
In doing so, she and her family, have raised more £50,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support – giving back to the charity which supported her beloved father, Karl Watson, when he was diagnosed with late-stage cancer.
The infamous Marathon des Sables takes place annually in March, and covers a distance of 156 miles, with participants running for six days straight, across the Sahara Desert. Lockdown inspired Karen, 49, and her husband Jon, 52, to take on the extreme desert challenge together in 2021.
Karen said: “I ran my first Marathon des Sables in 2019.
“It’s one of those things you think you’ll never do again but then lockdown came around and I suggested to Jon that we give it another go together.
Karen and Jon O’Donnell
“The 2021 race was particularly tough – it was moved to October due to the pandemic, but it was unseasonably hot, even for the Sahara, hitting 56°C in the dunes by the middle of the day.
“There was a lot of illness among the runners, although not Covid, thankfully. It meant about 50 per cent of the runners failed to finish, including Jon. It was a bit lonely without him and many of my tent mates, but I still managed to cross the finish line.
“This year, it was mercifully a bit cooler, although with strong sandstorms. We were delighted to cross the finish line together. The race itself is really hard. It’s seriously rough. But the camaraderie is amazing.
“I still find it hard to talk about my dad without crying. He is much-loved and dearly missed.
“He died of kidney cancer six years ago – it was clear quite early on that he wasn’t going to live and that he wasn’t going to have very long either. Between his diagnosis and dying, he only had 11 months.
“His two Macmillan nurses helped massively. “People always think of nurses in the context of treatment, healing, or hospices, but it was the care and listening and connection that made the most difference to us. It just made a really awful experience less scary.”
Pictured top: Karen on the move through the Saharan dunes (Pictures: Karen O’Donnell)
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